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Danish woman’s rape: PCR van skipped scheduled round

India on 21 January 2014Location : Delhi, India | Source : The Hindu

A Police Control Room van should have been patrolling State Entry Road where a 51-year-old Danish woman was gang-raped four days ago but it “skipped its scheduled round.”

Top Delhi Police officers confirmed to The Hindu that a PCR van was deployed on duty in front of the Pahargnaj exit of the New Delhi Railway station and was required to patrol State Entry Road, where the incident took place.

“State Entry Road falls under the beat of the PCR van stationed in front of the New Delhi Railway station and patrolling on the road is one of the duties of the van,” a senior police official said. “The van is required to patrol the area from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.,” he added.

The Danish woman was sexually assaulted by eight men in an isolated park at the end of the road early in the evening after she lost her way to her hotel in Paharganj.

After committing the rape, the eight men kept her captive for hours, according to the police. The victim later reached the hotel and informed the hotel manager, who called in the police.

There are five PCR vans that have been assigned to the Paharganj police station. All the vans are stationed at different strategic points as per the patrolling schedule of the police station and the closest to the spot of the incident was the one stationed in front of the New Delhi Railway station.

When The Hindu spoke to the people who work in an office at State Entry Road and some others who frequent it, it was found that police presence in the area is very limited. A 28-year-old man who works at a railway office situated on State Entry Road said: “I hardly see policemen coming inside State Entry Road for patrolling. There is patrolling staff on the main road for sure but they seldom come inside.”

Also, The Hindu found out that neither the local police station staff nor the Railway police staff frequent the area as a result of which vagabonds have found a safe haven at the place, which is just behind the New Delhi Railway station.